Scottish Executive

Adult Literacy

Maureen Macmillan (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made by its Adult Literacy Team.

Ms Wendy Alexander: I am   pleased to announce that the Adult Literacy Team’s report will be published on Monday 2 July on the team’s website.

  Website address: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/who/elld/alt.asp

  I welcome the report and broadly endorse its conclusions and 21 recommendations, although I wish to give them careful attention before making a full response to each one.

  I have agreed with the team’s recommendation that £18.5 million of the £22.5 million previously announced for adult literacy over the next three years should be distributed through local authorities to community learning strategy partnerships, where all sectors will be able to access the new resources. I believe that this is the best way to ensure funds reach all those who can assist in meeting the national target set out in the report of helping 80,000 people over the next three years.

  The allocations to local authorities, shown in the table, takes account of the team’s research on the main factors affecting low literacy and numeracy, so that funding can be targeted where it is most needed.

  Guidance will be issued shortly to local authorities detailing their individual allocations in each of the three years, which will be linked to outcomes agreed with them on behalf of the Community Learning Strategy Partnerships.

  Allocation of resources to local authorities for adult literacy and numeracy (2001-04)

  


Aberdeen City 
  

536,537 
  



Aberdeenshire 
  

549,773 
  



Angus 
  

305,492 
  



Argyll & Bute 
  

270,524 
  



Clackmannanshire 
  

193,069 
  



Dumfries & Galloway 
  

508,648 
  



Dundee City 
  

655,944 
  



East Ayrshire 
  

654,555 
  



East Dunbartonshire 
  

194,915 
  



East Lothian 
  

199,539 
  



East Renfrewshire 
  

187,441 
  



Edinburgh, City of 
  

1,749,741 
  



Falkirk 
  

422,566 
  



Fife 
  

1,019,705 
  



Glasgow City 
  

3,741,912 
  



Highland 
  

586,227 
  



Inverclyde 
  

451,005 
  



Midlothian 
  

236,840 
  



Moray 
  

241,455 
  



North Ayrshire 
  

579,838 
  



North Lanarkshire 
  

1,015,358 
  



Perth & Kinross 
  

318,506 
  



Renfrewshire 
  

683,792 
  



Scottish Borders 
  

285,139 
  



South Ayrshire 
  

392,475 
  



South Lanarkshire 
  

912,270 
  



Stirling 
  

276,163 
  



West Dunbartonshire 
  

471,669 
  



West Lothian 
  

353,828 
  



Eilean Siar 
  

191,669 
  



Orkney Islands 
  

142,148 
  



Shetland Islands 
  

171,258 
  



Total 
  

18,500,000

Agriculture

Mrs Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what changes will be involved for Scotland arising from the abolition of the Intervention Board Executive Agency and the formation of the new payments agency for Common Agriculture Policy payments in England.

Ross Finnie: The Intervention Board Executive Agency (IBEA) is designated as a cross-border public authority under sections 88 and 89 of the Scotland Act 1998. It carries out certain CAP related functions, mainly on market management matters, on behalf of Scottish ministers.

  On abolition of IBEA, the functions will revert to Scottish ministers, but provision is being made for the new payments agency - Rural Payments Agency - to carry out these functions on behalf of Scottish ministers under formal agency arrangements.

  These changes require secondary legislative changes both at Westminster and in the Parliament. Scottish Regulations will be laid in September covering these matters.

Caledonian MacBrayne

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans there are to alter the ownership profile of Caledonian MacBrayne.

Sarah Boyack: I have no plans to change the ownership of Caledonian MacBrayne Ltd.

Caledonian MacBrayne

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to ensure the continuation of the lifeline services operated by Caledonian MacBrayne.

Sarah Boyack: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-12632 on 23 January this year when I announced a package of provisional proposals which have been submitted to the European Commission and which I believe will provide a robust framework for the continued delivery of high quality lifeline ferry services to the Highlands and Islands.

  The Scottish Executive has remained in close touch with the European Commission and we hope to have the commission’s views on the proposals shortly.

Central Heating

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will announce who will be the managing agents of its central heating installation programme.

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what process and what criteria have been used to appoint the managing agents of its central heating installation programme.

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what fee will be paid to the managing agents of its central heating installation programme.

Jackie Baillie: The contract for management of the central heating programme in the private sector has been put out to tender, as required by EC procurement directives. The successful tenderer should be announced in July and will be chosen on the basis of value for money and compliance with the terms of the tender document. In accordance with government practice, the fee payable will not be disclosed.

Central Heating

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to divert monies allocated to the central heating initiative to other budgets and, if so, to which budgets.

Jackie Baillie: We keep all budgets and allocations under review to ensure that resources are used effectively for the benefit of all the people of Scotland.

Cycling

Mr Kenneth Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it is making in identifying schools where there is little or no provision of cycle training, and what steps it will take to encourage cycle training in such schools.

Sarah Boyack: A survey to provide baseline information on levels of cycle training in Scottish schools is due for completion shortly. When the report of the survey is available, I will consider its implications fully.

Dental Care

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the increased utilisation of dental therapists’ skills would help to alleviate any problems arising from the shortage of dentists in remote, rural and deprived areas and assist with reducing any inequalities of access to treatment.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive recognises and welcomes the contribution made to oral healthcare by the whole dental team, including that of the professions complementary to dentistry. It is examining how to encourage more dentists into remote, rural and deprived areas. However, the level of service that can be delivered by dental therapists is a reserved matter, and I refer Mary Scanlon to the answer I have given to question S1W-16389.

Dental Care

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any restrictions on dental therapists’ place of work, in particular, on moving from a hospital or community dental service to a general practice, under the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978 and the Dental Auxiliaries Regulations 1986 (SI 1986/887); whether it will detail any such restrictions, and what plans it has to remove any such restrictions to increase patient access to appropriate dental care and treatment.

Susan Deacon: The Dentists Act 1984 gives power to the General Dental Council (GDC) to make regulations governing dental therapists, among other dental auxiliaries. That power is restricted so that, without an Order in Council, dental therapists cannot undertake the filling of teeth or the extraction of deciduous teeth in general dental practice. In addition, regulations made by the GDC prevent therapists from carrying out other activities in general practice. Whether these restrictions should be altered is a regulatory matter falling within a reserved area. The desirability of lifting or modifying these restrictions, in order to increase patient access while assuring the quality and safety of treatment, is the subject of discussion with the UK Government.

Doctors

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to ensure that every doctor undertakes regular vocational education and training to ensure that their standards and skills are maintained and kept up-to-date.

Susan Deacon: The maintenance of standards and skills in the area of medical practice is the responsibility of a range of people and groups. The General Medical Council (GMC), which is an independent regulatory body, sets standards of practice for doctors. It is the responsibility of each individual doctor, as a professional practitioner, to keep his or her standards and skills up to the level required by the GMC. NHS employers also have a responsibility to support and manage Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and the introduction of the new appraisal system for consultants will underpin this. The Scottish Executive currently provides substantial financial input to the Scottish Council for Postgraduate Medical and Dental Education (SCPMDE) to enable them to support doctors in undertaking CPD.

Drug Misuse

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much was spent on methadone treatment in each of the past five years.

Iain Gray: Information on the total cost of the methadone treatment programme is not available centrally.

  Total costs include the cost of methadone, fees to pharmacists to dispense methadone and to supervise consumption, the cost of counselling and social support and fees to GPs participating in shared care schemes. There are also costs of providing specialist drug services.

  Health boards received an additional £2 million for all drug treatment services this year, giving a total of £14.352 million.

Drug Misuse

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has for the development of Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network guidelines or for a Health Technology Board for Scotland appraisal on the care and rehabilitation of drug addicts.

Susan Deacon: Neither the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) nor the Health Technology Board for Scotland (HTBS) has this topic in its current work programme. The Executive currently has no plans to ask them to consider it.

  However, anyone may propose a topic to either body by using the topic proposal forms available on their website (www.sign.ac.uk and www.htbs.org.uk). This would then be considered according to the organisation’s published process for the selection of topics.

Drug Misuse

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether methadone is more addictive for patients than heroin.

Iain Gray: Heroin and methadone are opioids that act in the same way on receptors in the brain. Opioid dependence is a well-established and clearly defined phenomenon. It is characterised by physical and psychological dependence, which becomes more likely as the dose and duration of use increase.

  Users of heroin experience a euphoria, but addicts become tolerant to the pleasurable effects of the drug quite rapidly. Methadone does not produce euphoria.

  Street heroin varies in purity and heroin requires more frequent "hits" than methadone.

  Heroin is generally thought to be more addictive than methadone. However, because methadone is long acting and the withdrawal effects, though less severe, can last much longer, drug users often claim that methadone is "harder to come off" than heroin.

Education

Elaine Thomson (Aberdeen North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what its plans are to support lone parents moving into further and higher education.

Jackie Baillie: Together with my colleagues Wendy Alexander and Nicol Stephen, I am pleased to announce a new three-year £24 million package of child care support for lone parents.

  Not only will this funding support lone parents entry into education and ultimately employment, but will also help to tackle child poverty through improving the opportunities for lone parents to support their families.

Enterprise

Mr John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to boost manufacturing in rural Scotland.

Mr Alasdair Morrison: The Scottish Executive is fully committed to manufacturing in Scotland. Created in Scotland, the Way Forward for Scottish Manufacturing in the 21st Century lists nearly 50 public sector initiatives and programmes supporting the sector. The Enterprise Networks are working in partnership to develop and deliver programmes to assist Scottish manufacturing, with Highlands and Islands Enterprise pursuing a number of initiatives aimed at the engineering and fabrication sectors in particular.

Freight

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many bids for freight facilities grants it is currently considering; how many of these bids have been returned to the applicants requesting further information, and whether existing guidance to applicants on how to bid for freight facilities grants is adequate.

Sarah Boyack: There are currently 14 Freight Facilities Grant (FFG) applications being considered which are at varying stages of processing. The rigorous consideration process to ensure value for money usually entails further enquiries with applicants, either by telephone or in writing. At present there is one outstanding letter issued to an applicant seeking further information.

  The existing guidance has proved a useful tool in enabling 10 FFG awards to be made in the last two years. However, the guidance is being reviewed to take account of recent, and proposed, changes in the scheme.

Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people are undergoing treatment for gender dysphoria in each health board area.

Susan Deacon: Information in the form requested is not available centrally.

  Treatment for gender dysphoria normally comprises a series of treatments, such as counselling, hormone therapy, and in a few cases, surgery. Most of these will be carried out in hospital and community health settings on an out-patient basis. Information on out-patient attendances is available only at specialty level and does not therefore identify specific conditions or treatments.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much money was spent on drug and alcohol rehabilitation treatment outwith Scotland for Scottish patients in each of the past five years.

Iain Gray: Information on the total cost of drug and alcohol treatment and rehabilitation for Scottish patients outwith Scotland is not available centrally.

  Health boards received an additional £2 million for drug treatment services this year, giving a total of £14.352 million. Local authorities have been allocated an additional £6.8 million for drug rehabilitation services. This additional funding will enable Drug Action Teams to plan an integrated approach to the provision of services locally.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it is making to Her Majesty’s Government that levels of illegally imported cigarettes and alcohol should be reduced, given the impact on its public health strategy.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Scottish Executive shares the concerns of Her Majesty’s Government about the impact of illegally imported cigarettes and alcohol. There is close contact with HM Customs and Excise Law Enforcement Directorate about a range of serious and organised crime issues through the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency.

  The UK Government announced, in March 2000, the "tackling tobacco smuggling" strategy, which aims to put cigarette smuggling into decline within three years. The strategy will deliver more aggressive enforcement activity, which will detect and deter other forms of smuggling, including alcohol.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether training on drug and alcohol addiction is included in the education and training programme of medical students, social workers and nurses.

Iain Gray: Training on drug and alcohol addiction is provided by each of the five medical schools in Scotland. It is also included in pre-registration nursing courses, and within the Diploma in Social Work qualification.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how the NHS ensures that patients are given adequate time to discuss with medical staff the risks and benefits of their treatment and any ethical and legal issues.

Susan Deacon: To enable a patient to give informed consent they are entitled to a clear explanation of their condition and any treatment, investigation or procedure proposed, including risks and alternatives, before agreeing on the course of action. They must also be given the time and any support, eg the services of an advocate, they need to ensure that they fully understand these issues.

  These entitlements form part of the generic standards developed by the Clinical Standards Board for Scotland. These standards require clinical services to regularly and systematically monitor the extent of patient involvement in making decisions about their own care and to ensure its effectiveness. The Clinical Standards Board is currently carrying out a review of the implementation of these standards across Scotland.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to reform the procedures for dealing with medical negligence to reduce timescales, cost and any anguish for claimants.

Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive currently has no plans to reform procedures for dealing with clinical negligence claims. However, we are aware of recent developments to assess the potential benefits of mediation for such claims and intend to explore the matter with the British Medical Association.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to introduce "no-fault" compensation schemes for NHS patients.

Susan Deacon: There are currently no plans to alter the way in which compensation is claimed and settled for acts of possible clinical negligence. Our efforts are directed at continually improving clinical standards and performance and so reduce the incidence of negligence.

Hospitals

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to publish more comprehensive information on the performance levels of hospitals.

Susan Deacon: In line with the undertaking in Our National Health: A plan for action, a plan for change , the Health Department is working with NHSScotland to develop a new comprehensive performance management framework which will assess health improvement, clinical outcomes and standards of service alongside good financial management. It is intended that the new framework will provide information to underpin NHS Boards’ annual reports, which will set out achievements and performance at board level. Boards will be free to publicise performance information in other ways.

Meningitis

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to include vaccination for pneumococcal meningitis in the routine childhood immunisation programme.

Malcolm Chisholm: At present, pneumococcal conjugate vaccine is not recommended for routine use in the childhood immunisation programme. However, studies to assess the possible role for pneumococcal immunisation in the UK programme are currently ongoing and the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), an independent expert committee which advises UK Health Departments on vaccination and immunisation issues, will review the evidence once these studies have been completed.

NHS Staff

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to introduce a voluntary and confidential health assessment with a qualified nurse for all NHS staff, as recently adopted by the Yorkhill Hospital NHS Trust.

Susan Deacon: Towards a Safer Healthier Workplace , the occupational health and safety service strategy for NHSScotland staff, requires all NHSScotland organisations to offer a comprehensive, competent and confidential occupational health and safety service to all staff as an integral part of their Human Resources Strategy. The proposal adopted by the Yorkhill NHS Trust is to provide its employees with the opportunity to have a lifestyle fitness assessment and forms part of the criteria for the Scotland’s Health at Work Silver Award. This is in line with current policy for NHSScotland employers to achieve the Scotland’s Health at Work Award and for staff to be encouraged to improve and manage their own personal health.

Planning

Mr John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what support it will offer Highland Council to assist implementation of the Inverness local plan.

Lewis Macdonald: Highland Council has sought comments from the Scottish Executive on the consultative draft Inverness local plan. Comments on the draft local plan do not commit the Scottish minister, or any Government department, to payment of grant on any particular project or to the amount or timing of any capital expenditure.

Rail Network

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail all representations it has made, or intends to make, to Railtrack or the Strategic Rail Authority regarding the upgrade and modernisation of Waverley Station.

Sarah Boyack: Scottish Executive officials are in regular contact with the Strategic Rail Authority and Railtrack on a wide range of matters, including the improvement of railway infrastructure.

Renewable Energy

Mr John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will support the development of further small-scale hydroelectric schemes.

Rhona Brankin: Small-scale hydroelectric schemes will be supported by means of the Renewables Obligation (Scotland). I expect that the statutory consultation on the detail of how the Renewables Obligation (Scotland) will support renewables will be issued during July.

Renewable Energy

Mr John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many small-scale hydroelectric schemes have been implemented since 1990; how much electricity is generated from these schemes, and what proportion of Scotland’s electricity generation small-scale hydroelectric schemes represent, both in terms of capacity and units produced.

Rhona Brankin: Since the first Order in 1994 under the Scottish Renewable Obligation, eight small-scale hydro-electric schemes have been commissioned in Scotland. These stations have an aggregate capacity of 5.82 MW. A further four stations with an aggregate capacity of 4.67 MW are either under construction or have received the necessary consents. Information on the actual amount of electricity generated by these schemes is not available. Their capacity represents 0.1% of total generating capacity in Scotland.

Renewable Energy

Mr John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many proposed small-scale hydroelectric schemes which were awarded Scottish Renewables Obligation contracts are (a) currently operational, (b) expected to become operational by 2003 and (c) expected to become operational by 2010.

Rhona Brankin: Eight Scottish Renewables Obligation hydro-electricity projects have been commissioned; two are under construction and a further two, although they have received the necessary consents, have still to get under way. Progress on these and the other projects approved under the Scottish Renewables Obligation is a matter for the developers.

Renewable Energy

Mr John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how much electricity it expects will be generated by small-scale hydroelectric schemes and what proportion of Scotland’s electricity generation capacity this will represent by (a) 2003 and (b) 2010.

Rhona Brankin: We have commissioned a study of Scotland’s renewable resource, which is expected to be published in late summer. This should provide an indication of what further potential there is for small-scale hydro to contribute to our renewable targets. I consider that the technology has an important if modest contribution to make, and the proposed arrangements to support renewable energy under the forthcoming Renewables Obligation (Scotland) should assist this contribution.

Renewable Energy

Mr John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how much electricity would be generated annually if every proposed small-scale hydroelectric scheme which holds a Scottish Renewables Obligation (SRO) contract became operational at the level of output planned at the time the SRO contract was awarded.

Rhona Brankin: The small hydro schemes contracted under the SRO had a total capacity of 30.5 MW, and a potential output of about 80 GWhrs annually. It was always recognised however that the commissioning of these projects would depend on the developers being successful in obtaining planning permission and finance, and it was never expected that all contracted SRO projects would come to fruition; an allowance was made for this.

Renewable Energy

Mr John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what consultation was undertaken by Scottish Natural Heritage before the production and publication of its policy on renewable energy (Policy Statement No. 01/02), in particular how many organisations were consulted, which organisations these were, how many responses were received and whether responses will be published.

Mr John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what consultation was undertaken by Scottish Natural Heritage before the production and publication of its document Guidelines on the Environmental Impacts of Windfarms and Small Scale Hydroelectric Schemes , in particular how many organisations were consulted, which organisations these were, how many responses were received and whether responses will be published.

Rhona Brankin: This is a matter for Scottish Natural Heritage. The information requested is not held centrally.

Renewable Energy

Mr John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Scottish Natural Heritage’s policy on renewable energy (Policy Statement No. 01/02) is consistent with Executive policy as stated in National Planning Policy Guideline 6.

Rhona Brankin: The text of Policy Statement No.01/02 is not incompatible with that of National Planning Policy Guideline 6.

Renewable Energy

Mr John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what impact Scottish Natural Heritage’s policy on renewable energy (Policy Statement No. 01/02) has on determining planning consent for renewable energy schemes under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 and the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997.

Lewis Macdonald: Scottish Natural Heritage’s Policy Statement does not constitute guidance to planning authorities but is primarily intended to guide its staff in their role as consultees. Scottish Executive planning policy on this issue is to be found in National Planning Policy Guideline 6: Renewable Energy Developments .

  Those determining development proposals must consider the weight to be attached to all the issues raised, including comments from consultees such as Scottish Natural Heritage. Consents under section 36 of the Electricity Act have deemed planning consent under the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 and are therefore subject to the same considerations.

Road Safety

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-15831 by Sarah Boyack on 11 June 2001, whether it will publish the report and recommendations of the road safety investigation into the Ballinluig junction on the A9.

Sarah Boyack: The road safety investigation report for the Ballinluig junction, in common with all such reports, was not commissioned with a view to external publication. Given that the report contains potentially sensitive information, some of which has been provided by the police, it would not be appropriate to place it in the public domain.

Road Safety

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-15831 by Sarah Boyack on 11 June 2001, when it expects to be able to announce what measures it is planning to implement as a result of the road safety investigation into the Ballinluig junction on the A9.

Sarah Boyack: The measures which will be implemented as a result of the road safety investigation into the Ballinluig junction include enhanced signing and road markings, together with the introduction of a temporary 50 mph speed limit. In addition, another speed camera will be installed for the northbound carriageway. The existing speed camera will also be relocated to a more prominent position.

Roads

John Scott (Ayr) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what effect the aggregates tax will have on the trunk roads maintenance contracts recently awarded to Amey Highways Ltd and BEAR (Scotland) Ltd.

Sarah Boyack: The prices tendered for the trunk road maintenance contracts were based on the level of taxation applicable in October 2000, the date when tenders were returned. The prices will be adjusted in accordance with a contractual formula based on published indices of materials costs and the contract costs will vary as the tax affects the former. The Scottish ministers are also bound to take into account any other impact that a change in tax levels makes to the costs of undertaking the contracts and adjust the contract prices in line with the change.

Roads

John Scott (Ayr) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the aggregates tax will affect the budgeted cost of upgrading the A77.

Sarah Boyack: Aggregate tax will affect the cost of all road construction schemes, including the upgrading of the A77 to motorway between Fenwick and Malletsheugh.

Roads

John Scott (Ayr) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to reinstate the pavement of the A8 from Newhouse to Baillieston.

Sarah Boyack: The A8 roadway between Newhouse to Baillieston is worn out and to prevent the collapse of the road pavement structure, my department plan to award a contract for refurbishment.

  Tenders for the work will be invited later in the summer and, subject to receiving acceptable offers, work will start in spring 2002.

Scottish Executive Contracts

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what contracts it, its agencies or non-departmental public bodies have with Esso or other subsidiaries of Exxon-Mobil.

Angus MacKay: The Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency and Fisheries Research Services purchase some of their marine gas oil requirements from Esso under the terms of a contract put in place by the Ministry of Defence. Other areas of the Executive occasionally purchase small amounts of fuel oil from, amongst others, Esso.

  Contracts placed by non-departmental public bodies are a matter for the individual body concerned. Information on contracts placed by those bodies is not held centrally.

Scottish Qualifications Authority

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Qualifications Authority is properly and legally constituted according to the Education (Scotland) Act 1996 and, in particular, whether it has at least 15 board members (including a chairman) of which 12 (including the chairman) have been appointed by the Scottish Executive.

Mr Jack McConnell: The composition of the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) is prescribed in section 1 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1996. At present the SQA comprises 12 members including the Chair and Chief Executive. Seven of these have been appointed by Scottish ministers or their predecessors. Steps are being taken to appoint new members. Schedule 1, paragraph 10(3) of the 1996 Act states "The proceedings of SQA and of any committee established by it shall not be invalidated by any vacancy amongst its members or the members of such committee or by any defect in the appointment of such member or failure to comply with any requirement of paragraph 11 (Conflict of interest) or 12 (Confidentiality of information) below".